In a move seen as bolstering the chances for passage of Marriage Equality legislation in the Rhode Island legislature this year, US Congressman Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island, 2nd District) announced his support for the measure. The announcement came in the form of an op-ed published in the Saturday edition of The Providence Journal. Congressman Langevin writes in the piece:
As the debate about same-sex marriage continues in Rhode Island and in Washington, I have taken time to reflect carefully on my own position. Based on my own experiences and my firm belief that all Americans should be treated equally under the law, I am now convinced that affording full marriage equality rights to same-sex couples is the only fair and responsible approach for both Rhode Island and the nation. If our nation expects to provide equal protection to all, then our civic institutions must reflect that noble goal.
The policy announcement comes as the Rhode Island General Assembly prepares to decide on how to move forward with the Marriage Equality debate. A story in last week’s
Providence Journal indicated that Speaker of the House Gordon Fox may move for a vote on the legislation as early as this week, which makes Congressman’s Langevin’s support an important momentum builder for the equality cause.
Here is the full text of Langevin’s Op-Ed:
Throughout my career in public service, I have strongly opposed discrimination based on sexual orientation at both the state and federal level, co-sponsoring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes legislation, and supporting efforts to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
While those topics have been controversial, they never elicited the intensely passionate and emotional debate that occurred as our nation began struggling with the question of same-sex marriage. For many years, I supported civil unions as a reasonable way to achieve consensus on a divisive issue, providing rights and protections to same-sex couples while respecting the deeply held beliefs of those not comfortable with the idea of marriage rights.
Then, three years ago, I attended the commitment ceremony of a longtime staff member and his partner of nine years. Before their friends and family, they professed their love, commitment and respect for each other. Their sentiments were just as moving, heartfelt and sincere as any of the vows I had heard at other weddings, yet I realized that their union would not be treated the same under the law. That difference struck me as fundamentally unjust, and I began to challenge the wisdom of creating separate categories of rights for certain groups of citizens. I began to see that civil unions fell short of the equality I believed that same-sex couples deserved.
As the debate about same-sex marriage continues in Rhode Island and in Washington, I have taken time to reflect carefully on my own position. Based on my own experiences and my firm belief that all Americans should be treated equally under the law, I am now convinced that affording full marriage equality rights to same-sex couples is the only fair and responsible approach for both Rhode Island and the nation. If our nation expects to provide equal protection to all, then our civic institutions must reflect that noble goal.
As a U.S. representative, I take seriously my constitutional responsibility to protect the rights and liberties of our citizens. Marriage equality is consistent with that view because it safeguards basic civil rights and provides appropriate legal protections so that all loving and committed couples may care for each other. At the same time, our nation’s fundamental freedom of religion dictates that religious institutions should be allowed to define marriage as they deem appropriate. The marriage-equality legislation before the General Assembly respects the important separation of church and state by not requiring religious institutions to change any of their practices or standards relating to marriage.
The members of the General Assembly now have a historic opportunity. As a former member of that body, I understand the challenges they face, but this is a time for leadership.
During my time as a state representative, I remember talking with my father about pending legislation to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, which was highly controversial at the time. While I greatly valued his thoughtful and balanced perspective, my father was certainly no social activist. He was just an ordinary man who had grown up through the civil-rights movement and always believed it was fundamentally unjust to treat people differently because of their race. When I told him I had decided to support the non-discrimination legislation, he expressed his pride in my decision because it showed that I viewed issues of fairness and justice as he did. And he was convinced that, in the same way racial discrimination became a shameful part of our history, one day our nation would look back in disbelief at a time when we denied our fellow citizens basic civil rights based on their sexual orientation. I now believe that day is within our reach.
As the General Assembly considers this important topic, I ask lawmakers and all Rhode Islanders to honor our state’s founding principles of tolerance and freedom and to support marriage equality in our state. It’s time to do the right thing.
Rep. Jim Langevin, a Democrat, represents Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District.